Will Forte says Hollywood writers might be on the picket line longer than anticipated if they can’t get the kind of money they used to … which has changed a lot due to technology.
The ‘SNL’ alum was showing support Wednesday with protesters outside of Sony’s HQ in Culver City — and he chopped it up with us about one of the key sticking points in the WGA’s negotiations with studio execs … namely, a sharp decrease in residuals earned in TV.
As Will explains, writers used to get extra cash every time their work aired — that’s on top of their going rate to do the job. However, in the era of streaming-first programming, those residuals have mostly gone down the drain.
Not just that, but Will says there are fewer episodes per season being made these days. Whereas a regular season on cable or a network back in the day used to run 20+ episodes — streaming shows now are much shorter, clocking in at about 10 episodes a season or less.
Bottom line … writers have gotten screwed on getting paid on multiple fronts — which is one of the big reasons why this strike is happening … among other factors, like AI, staffing, etc.
Considering the media landscape has changed drastically in the past 10-15 years … Will predicts this impasse will last for a little while. There are some major corrections writers are demanding in any new agreement — and the studios are gonna need to meet them halfway.
The question … how long will this go on? Content is getting cranked out at a way faster pace than the last strike, so studios presumably have stuff in the vault and can hold a while.
Time will tell.
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